Mojitos, Cuba libres, Daiquiris. Three drinks that instantly bring about a sudden longing for a few days of relaxing on the beach, laying out in the sun. Most people don’t think much about these cocktails past ordering and drinking them, much less how much goes into the most important part of the drink. While there is a large variety of excellent rum available in the world, for a traditional (authentic) cocktail of Cuban origin, only aged light Cuban rum is appropriate. This may seem like an easily satisfied requirement, but with the embargo as well as debate over what entails a true Cuban rum, this is in truth a complicated question. One with multiple views and a history of conflicting opinions going back to the revolution and beginning of …show more content…
For example, take Havana Club’s process. It starts with the Cuban zafra, or sugar cane harvest. The sugar cane is then squeezed through a metal press to get a sugary liquid called guarapo, which is heated to produce sugar and molasses. The molasses is fermented with pure spring water and yeast for about twenty-four hours, the product of which is called vino de caña, or sugar cane wine. The vino is then heated and distilled in copper lined metal columns to create a vapour, which is condensed back to liquid and collected. This liquid is called aguardiente, and is full of aromas. The aguardamiente is aged- or añejomiente- in white oak barrels for at least two years. After aging, it is filtered through charcoal in a special process and blended to become a base. The base is aged further, and finally Maestros del Ron Cubano select the best bases to blend depending on the complexity and age of each product. After this, the rum is ready to be bottled (although it is often first diluted to about forty percent alcohol by volume). Transition Origin of white rum While rum has been produced in Cuba for as long as sugarcane has been grown in its countryside (quite a few centuries), it was dark and unfiltered and considered a crude, cheap drink for the lower class. Facundo Bacardí emigrated to Cuba from Spain at sixteen years old, and he was determined to create a rum that was desirable at the